# 120 Year Old Cigars



## Jimbo57 (Aug 15, 2009)

From the Summer 2009 issue of the _European Cigar-Cult Journal_

· An astonishing story by Colin Ganley on the discovery of three partially-filled boxes of roughly 120-year-old Havana cigars from an English country house that was being remodeled. Noted British restauranteur Gerry Stonhill was given the cigars a couple of years back and slowly brought them back to life.

Two of the boxes were Cabañas y Carbajal Coronas Grandes (5 7/8 x 40 torpedoes) and one was a box of H. Upmann Sonrisas (4 3/4 x 38 torpedoes); both types were boxes of 100 with two bundles of 50 enclosed in each box.

Ganley examined the cigars at a dinner along with Hunters & Frankau managing director Jemma Freeman and Tom Tom Cigars owner Tom Assheton and they determined that they had to be about 120 years old judging from the decoration of the boxes and some specific clues related to awards those brands won in the 19th Century.

What would they taste like? Ganley reported that the Cabañas Coronas Grandes were sensational, with plenty of flavor which he described as "lightly peppery with a milky texture, but the overwhelming characteristic is a floral aroma." The Upmann Sonrisas drew well, but the flavor has "Tastes of chicken noodle soup, bread, an acidic tingle on the tongue and a minerally finish," not quite as good as the Cabañas, but pretty good for 120 years after manufacture! Wrote Ganley of the adventure: "the lesson it taught me is this: well-made Habanos can be at their peak even after one hundred years."

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I just received this in an email. Man, I would love to have been the one to 'test' these cigars. Except for the "chicken noodle soup" taste!!


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Too bad I won't be able to age anything quite this long :|


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## fuente~fuente (May 11, 2009)

Herf N Turf said:


> Too bad I won't be able to age anything quite this long :|


I don't know... They could freeze your head Ted Williams style, & you can still have a chance.

You'd just have to have someone to light up & stick it in your pie-hole for you.:tongue1:


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## ejgarnut (Sep 28, 2009)

I imagine these would bring a few pennies at an auction.


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## Frinkiac7 (Dec 12, 2008)

I can only imagine how great they might have been if they had been stored in optimal conditions for all those years, instead of having to taste them after "bringing them back to life."

Great story, though...wow.


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## mrsmitty (Jan 22, 2009)

Wow that's crazy. Wait until they find 3,000 year old Egyptian cigars perfectly preserved. Now that'll be the day


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## smokin nightly (Sep 9, 2009)

Those cigars dont sound very good to me...chicken noodle soup? WTH?


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## JGD (Mar 2, 2009)

smokin nightly said:


> Those cigars dont sound very good to me...chicken noodle soup? WTH?


i agree


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## fiddlegrin (Feb 8, 2009)

Jimbo57 said:


> ........... "the lesson it taught me is this: well-made Habanos can be at their peak even after one hundred years."
> 
> **********************************


*Not a logical conclusion!*

He doesn't know what their peak was or when it happened.........










.


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## DaReallyPoGigolo (Aug 27, 2009)

BEHOLD! Le Grand Cigar!

Its wrapper was a piece of the original US Constitution. It was hand-rolled by Queen Elizabeth during her "wild years" and was buried with George Burns until grave robbing space mushrooms stole it.


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## blackop555 (Aug 13, 2009)

futurama lol


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## LGHT (Oct 12, 2009)

I don't think they would smoke too good. I've smoked a few pre-embargo sikars and they had little or no strength at all. Lovely flavor, but no strength left in em.


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## eyesack (Jul 19, 2009)

Euuuuuggggghhhhh... did you know that dust is mainly comprised of dead skin-cells that were sloughed off the body? How dusty do you think those stogies were??? Chicken noodle soup is not something I'd want in a cigar!


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## baba (Nov 5, 2007)

A few years ago at the auction house Southbys they sold some cigars from the 1890s - I think there was an article in CA about it. One of the writters smoke one and it was not too great. I think cigars are a lot like wine - the have a prim time to smoke them, and then they start to degrade.
The oldest cigar I smoked was from 1958, it was cuban. It tasted a bit musty like an old attick. Not a bad cigar, but ok with a musty ness.


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## Research-Colin (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi Everyone,

This is Colin from ECCJ. I just saw this thread and thought I'd give a response. Firstly, they weren't dusty (thank goodness). I would imagine that this is because they were in their boxes since manufacture. 

A note about the chicken noodle soup flavor. I could probably better characterize that as chicken broth. It was a little salty and a bit savory, but that didn't dominate the flavor. 

Regarding strength, LGHT is right, these had almost no strength but had solid taste and aroma. This is particularly shocking because in my experience (tasting lots of aged cigars) cigars often lose their taste/aroma over time. Many pre-embargo cigars are tasteless. Even some 20 year old smokes have lost all flavor. 

baba, the article in CA about the oldies are from a cabinet stored at the JJFox store in London. Those cigars were made aproximately one or two decades after the cigars I reviewed for the article. I have had one of those and indeed they are without flavor/aroma. Unfortunately those came in a glass box which allowed the elements to attack them over time. Those boxes have no seal and are exposed to light. 

The reason I made the claim about the cigars being near their peak is that they were still very smokeable and enjoyable. At some point they probably did have a bit more flavor than they do now so perhaps they are not currently at their peak. But they have not degraded to the point where they were weak in flavor or aroma - so they are not too far off their peak. The point I tried to make is that while these were just two examples of very old cigars, they showed that that kind of age does not necessarily mean that a cigar will be seriously degraded. They could conceivably be at their peak even after such time. 

Regarding auction - the owner is slowly smoking through them and will not sell even a single stick (he adamantly states)

I think it is important to state a bias that I have and that I think most people have. When most people smoke a cigar as rare as this they consider its age when they come to a final judgement of the cigar. What I mean is that the notion of its age adds to the experience of the cigar. It is like smoking a cigar during a caribbean sunset. There is something added to the experience through that external factor. That doesn't impact my description of the cigar's taste/aroma but it does make the experience more memorable. 

Thanks for all the comments.
Sincerely,
Colin


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

Welcome Colin and thank you for the info,I ejoyed the review.


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## pitbulljimmy (Aug 1, 2009)

Cigars still smoking good after 120 years.... I'm speechless.... I'm envious.... Wow!


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## Jimbo57 (Aug 15, 2009)

Thanks Colin. Your article and followup are interesting observations.


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## smokin nightly (Sep 9, 2009)

Thanks for clarifying Colin...These must be a mind blowing experience...


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## Flux (Oct 19, 2009)

Jimbo57 said:


> Thanks Colin. Your article and followup are interesting observations.


Agreed. Thanks for taking the time to post.


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## GTCharged (Nov 3, 2008)

Thanks for your input Colin. It's very much appreciated!


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## Research-Colin (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi Guys, Glad to share. I don't post much anymore because my workload has gotten bigger. It is great to talk with you.
Regards,
Colin


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